House Plants
Because it is common for children under the age of 5 to eat or taste plants, the Cincinnati Drug and Poison Information Center offers information about poisonous house plants and suggestions in our Safety House and below for preventing poisoning in children and pets. To prevent poisoning from occurring:
- Know the names of your house and yard plants and trees.
- Keep poisonous house plants out of the reach of young children.
- Teach children never to put leaves, stems, seeds, nuts, mushrooms (toadstools) or berries from any plant into their mouths.
- Never eat a wild berry or mushroom unless you are positive of its identity.
- Do not assume a plant is safe to eat because birds or other wildlife eat it.
- Do not rely on cooking to destroy a plant's toxic chemicals.
- Store bulbs and seeds out of sight and out of reach of children.
Symptoms from plant poisonings vary greatly. Some plants may cause skin irritation; irritation of the mouth; nausea; vomiting; or more serious effects. If anyone happens to eat a poisonous plant or a plant you do not know about, please follow the first aid instructions, and then call the Cincinnati Drug and Poison Information Center, 513-636-5111, or toll-free, 1-800-222-1222.
The Cincinnati Drug and Poison Information Center provides lists of non-poisonous house plants and poisonous house plants. Though not all-inclusive, the lists are designed to be a guide in choosing plants for your house and garden and in knowing where to safely place them.
